Before They Were Founders
by Lady Izzy and her Green Goat
Summary: Sometimes your friends never share your strokes of brilliance. Godric Gyffindor found that out the hard way.


Helga Hufflepuff was busy brewing an intricate and complex potion that was going to be poured into the mortar for the castle that would be their school. It was going to help the castle to be able to withstand the most powerful spells and keep it from falling apart with age. She was positive she was getting everything correct. Of course, it would be a great deal easier to concentrate if Rowena wasn't telling her what to do every five seconds. The only reason Helga was even mixing the impossible potion was because Rowena had begun to complain that she was the only one making potions while Helga was pouring over maps to find the perfect location for their school. Meanwhile, sitting at separate desks, Godric was busy making a layout of the castle and Salazar was coming up with all sorts of rules so that students would never get too out of hand, occasionally calling out and asking the others opinions on whether a rule was too stringent or lenient.

"Rowena, if you want everything done _your_ way then you should not have grumbled that you were stuck doing potions! Honestly!" Helga snapped after Rowena had prompted her for the umpteenth time.

"I was only saying that you need to—"

"I know what I'm doing!" Helga interrupted, "Just because you have that tiara—" Helga indicated the tiara perched on Rowena's dark hair with an irritable nod, "—doesn't mean that you know _everything_!"

Helga tossed in the next ingredient and immediately knew something was wrong. The potion began to bubble and froth and then all of the sudden it exploded with an abnormally loud BANG! that caused Godric and Salazar to jump up and run to her aid, even though Rowena was already helping her to her feet. Godric steadied her and tried to shepherd her into a nearby chair.

"I'm fine, Godric, really. I've just got a sooty face."

Godric restrained a laugh, "Not only your face but your... ah, hair is, um..." He moved his hands in an upward motion from his head, still trying not to laugh.

Reaching up, Helga felt that all of her hair was sticking straight up. She let out an exasperated sigh that was more like an enraged growl and waved her wand over her head with a flourish and a second later her face was sparkling clean and her golden hair was flowing downwards again. She turned back to the potion to see what she had done wrong.

"I was going to tell you that you needed to put the lion tail hairs in before the hog warts but you stopped me," Rowena said anxiously as if she were afraid Helga might snap at her again. Helga let go of her feelings of annoyance with a long sigh and turned back to the person who had caused it.

"Oh, I'm sorry Rowena, but I would have been able to do it properly if you-" Helga stopped suddenly as Godric slowly approached Rowena, an oddly austere look on his face.

"What did you just say?" he asked so seriously that Helga feared that Godric might actually be suffering from some sort of illness.

"I-I was just telling Helga that she should have put the lion tail hairs in before the hog warts."

"THAT'S IT!" Godric shouted excitedly, quickly looking at each and every one of them, expecting them to share his stroke of inspiration.

"What, you don't see it?"

"See what, Godric?" Helga asked, perplexed.

"_Hogwarts_!" he exclaimed, his eyes shining, "It's the _perfect_ name for the school. Think about it! Hog warts are important factors in most of the potions we're using to reinforce the school, why not name the school after them?"

Rowena gave Godric a skeptical look. In fact, all of them gave Godric a skeptical look.

"It's not clever enough! Think of all of the fun students will poke!" Rowena cried.

"Think of the impressions we will leave on all of the important wizarding nobles," Salazar said arrogantly.

"It _is_ a bit too odd. We need something more— memorable," Helga said shaking her head, but smiling kindly at her friend. She didn't sound as convicting as the other two…

"_Hogwarts_—" Godric began again, but Rowena and Salazar cut across him.

"We are not naming the school Howarts!" they shouted in unison with such finality that Rowena's addition of "And that's final!" wasn't even needed.

Godric pulled a pouting face and went back to his plans as the other three turned away from him but Helga could see that he wasn't really working. He simply began writing _Hogwarts_ in different ways on a spare scrap of parchment, obviously trying to give it a more impressive title.

_Hogwarts Wizarding School of Great Britain_

_Hogwarts School of Sorcery and Chivalry_

Godric glanced up at the others. Rowena was rigidly beginning to mix potions again with her back to him and Salazar was continuing his extensive list of rules with his lips pressed together in a harsh frown. Helga, however, was watching him with a small smile on her face instead of resuming her scouring of the map in front of her. Realizing that he was looking at her, she winked at him as if to say:

"They will come around to their senses soon enough. _Hogwarts_ is the _perfect_ name."

_This was written by the **Green Goat**._


End file.
